SEVEN DAYS
by tatty ted
Summary: On September 7th at approximately seven-fifteen, DCI Roisin Connor receives a picture in the post. It's of a brown haired girl, tied to a chair with a note saying 7 days. Now, Roisin has seven days to discover the identity of the girl and bring her home. Or receive her little finger in the post and the rest of her body scattered around London. - —Roisin/Mike. HIGH T.
1. CHAPTER I

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**SEVEN DAYS**  
_a trial & retribution fanfiction_

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It's days like this, when the sun's creeping through the crack in the blinds that Roisin questions why she brought a large house like the one she lives in. Large, spacious, didn't half cost loads on the mortgage not to mention, it's a little too big for one person. It is, however the perfect home for raising a family but that,

is definitely out of the question for Roisin.

She's uptight for one, never quiet finds the _right_ person for two and for three, there's not a bleedin' maternal bone in her body. Having children and being married would just end in disaster or so she thinks.

Anyway, it's a normal morning questioning why she blew all her father's inheritence money on _this_ house, wondering whether she'll ever find _mr bloody right_ to stop her mother questioning whether she's ever going to get married and give her a grandchild before she pops her clogs.

She goes to the kitchen and makes herself a coffee, black no sugar and sits at the kitchen table. As she settles down, she hears the post being posted through the door and she sighs. The only post she ever gets these days are bills, bills, bills and more bills.

As she gathers them from the floor, she flicks through them before she stops at one of the letters.

The envelope isn't brown like she expected but it's a dirty yellow. It's strange because the letter is handwritten and the stamp is from up North. She drops the other letters on the table and stares at the envelope.

Tearing it open, a photograph falls onto the table. On the photograph is a girl, tied to a chair with ropes and a piece of duct tape across her mouth. On the back of the photograph are the words; _Seven days to find her, otherwise you receive her little finger in the post and the rest of her body over London. Seven days. x_

And all Roisin can do is stare at the photograph wondering why the kidnapper chose her personally. As she looked at the clock, she realised that the time was seven-fifteen on September 7th. Now, she had a good enough excuse to hate the number seven.

/

She called the station as she got ready, the thought of her work colleagues catching her in her pyjamas mortified her. She was putting her hair in a ponytail when there was a knock on the door and the door opened.

"Ma'am?" She appeared at the top of the stairs to see PC Seer at the bottom. Now, he definitely wasn't her favourite person and she walked down the stairs towards him, "In the kitchen."

He followed her into the kitchen and when they stopped at the table. PC Seer looked down at the envelope it came in and the picture and asked;

"Did you touch it?"

She shot him a dirty look; "No the fucking fairy did. Now where's DCS Walker?"

"In a meeting Ma'am, he said he'll be here as quick as he can."

Roisin rolled her eyes, Michael Walker's routine of _"I'll be there asap" _was never quite quick enough for Roisin.

"What about DS Satchell and DC West?"

"DS Satchell is on leave and DC West is on her way Ma'am." Fucking leave! When was the last time she had any leave. Pacing the kitchen and biting her thumb-nail, Roisin knew that by the time the team got their arses in gear, she'd only have six days left to find her.

/

**_11:54am_**_._

It was definitely a strange case, one neither of them had ever come across. Of course most kidnappers sent a letter/email/photograph of their victim to the families but it was uncommon for them to send it to the police.

Roisin studied the photograph girl was brunette, possibly olive skinned although that could be the dim light in the room the girl was been held. She couldn't shake the feeling she knew her and _had_ seen her somewhere before.

"You've definitely not seen her before Ma'am?" Lisa West's voice broke through Roisin's thoughts.

She shook her head and answered back; "She _seems_ familiar."

"Oh Ma'am, DCS Walker said he'll be here shortly."

Roisin nodded, still trying to figure out why this photograph was sent to her. Why someone wanted her on this case? She knew they were bound to ask who'd sent her this but Roisin couldn't answer that. In her career she'd sent down too many scumbags to remember every single name.

She fiddled with her thumb nail again, trying to remember where she'd seen the girl.

She banged her head against the table in frustration. Hitting a dead end in an investigation wasn't uncommon but hitting a dead end with only seven days to find the victim was frustrating.

"Roisin?" The voice of Michael Walker broke through Roisin's thoughts and she looked up from the table. She edged the photograph towards him which he picked up. He looked at the photograph noting that the girl couldn't be more than fifteen, sixteen at a push.

He turned it over and read the words about having seven days to find her before he dropped it back on the table.

As he looked at Roisin he said gently; "We'll find her, I promise."

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**jottings** — will be about eight chapters long and probably shit but an idea i couldn't get out of my head. characters are most likely OOC so if they are, please tell me, it's been a while since i've written for trial & retribution. if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review;3


	2. CHAPTER II

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**CHAPTER TWO**.  
_12:56pm, September 8th._

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She'd spent all day and night trying to discover the identity of the girl only to hit brick wall after brick wall. There was no one matching the girl's description that'd been reported missing plus she still couldn't figure out _where_ she'd seen her.

She had fallen asleep at her desk in the early hours of the morning although she didn't dream peacefully. All she dreamt about what the girl being tortured, her death and receiving her little finger in the post and the rest of her body scattered over London.

The slam of the office door startled her and she sat up. She rubbed her left temple feeling a headache coming on.

"Have you been here all night?" Roisin noticed Mike's voice was laced with worry and Roisin didn't answer. She knew what he'd say and she really couldn't be arsed with an argument at this present moment. She opened her desk draw trying to find some paracetomol but couldn't find any, instead she found a bottle of vodka.

She sighed and closed the draw.

"Roisin?" She looked up, making eye contact for a split second, "We will find her."

"Will we?" She answered back. She wasn't going to lie, she was scared. That itself was an emotion she wasn't used to dealing with because she never got scared dealing with cases. This was the third case and in the other two; the victim had turned up dead.

Deep in her heart Roisin wanted to believe _they'd_ find her but she had to be realistic. They couldn't save everybody.

"Any closer to finding out who she is?"

She shook her head, "No." There was a pause as she studied the photograph again. Mike knew she was hurting inside. Whenever there was that case, she'd stay in the office all hours trying her best to find something.

He smiled sadly and left the office. As she door slammed closed in front of her, she looked up and sighed deeply.

/

_**3:15pm**._

They were still running into a brick wall, two/three hours later. There had been no fingerprints on the photograph, the hallmark of the envelope was sent from Manchester and now DS Palmer was going through missing persons in a twenty miles radius.

Roisin was frustrated! No scrap that she wasn't frustrated, she was desperate to find anything linking to this girl and where she'd come from.

She still sat in the office, photograph of the girl in front of her. Olive skinned, brown hair, a slight flicker of her brain trying to search for a forgotten memory. Where had she seen this girl before?

"For fuck sake!" She muttered before she threw her mug onto the floor. It cracked into pieces and the bang alerted those outside the office. Sam Palmer made eye contact with Mike Walker as he was coming in, "How is she holding up?"

"She's managing," he glances in her direction before he repeats, "She'll be okay once we find something." He leaves the rest of the team to try and find something and walks towards her office. He knocks on and opens the door,

"Roisin?"

"I'm fine," she answers too quickly for Mike's liking. He knows Roisin, he knows when she's right and when she isn't and this case is beginning to affect her, not that she's willing to show it.

"Really?" He glances at the shattered mug on the carpet not far from the desk. He raises his eyebrows but doesn't say anything before looking back at her, "Roisin I know—"

"You don't know anything!" She sighs deeply and runs a hand through her hair, "Six days Mike that's all we've got left. Six days to find a girl that we know nothing about. We're never going to find her and I can't bare her death on my conscience as well as every other victim we've fucking failed!"

She sighs again, "It's personal Mike, that letter was addressed to me. _I_ have to find her otherwise _I_ get her finger so don't tell me you know how I feel. You don't." She stares back at the photograph desperately trying to remember. She swallowed. This girl could be anyone.

She could be a daughter of a villan, the victim of someone, some criminal's girlfriend or bit on the side. She rubs her left temple again feeling a headache coming on and she realises at that second, Mike hadn't left.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Nothing," he answered before he left closing the door behind him. He wanted her to go home, to sleep for a couple of hours and come back when she was refreshed. He didn't dare bring up the matter at this minute, he didn't want to argue with Roisin but he knew he would end up doing so if she spent another night in her office.

Roisin could be stubborn when she wanted to be.

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**jottings** / if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review:3


	3. CHAPTER III

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**CHAPTER THREE.  
**_00:21am, September 9th._

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Twenty-one minutes past minute and Roisin was sat at her computer. She'd sent the rest of the team home as they still weren't any closer to finding out who their young victim was. Nothing had come up on the missing person's database in a twenty mile radius either so again they had nothing to work on.

She sat on the floor, piles and piles surrounding her. They were old cases of hers, dating back for years wondering if the answer lay in one of these. There had to be a connection somewhere otherwise why else would he or she have sent the letter to Roisin.

She crawled to her desk and took out the bottle of vodka and packet of cigarettes. As she sat crossed legged, the files still surrounding her, she took out a cigarette and lit it. She blew out the smoke ignoring the signs around the office that asked for officers not to spoke and wondered why, when she had a difficult case she'd smoke.

Apart from the odd cigarette every now and then, she hadn't been a heavy smoker in over seven years.

She spent ages sat on the floor, drinking and smoking and studying her files trying to find a link. The clock reached two minutes to one when the office door opened. She looked up wondering who an earth would still be here at nearly one in the morning!

"Roisin?" He closes the door, the familiar smell of vodka and cigarettes present, "You should go home."

"There'd be no point," she answers and closes one file and opens the other. He studies her for a second (perhaps a second too long) and kneels down beside her. He touches her wrists ever so gently, "You need to sleep Roisin."

"I'll be fine." She replies back as she makes eye contact with him. They stare at each other for a moment, "Let me take you home."

She shakes her head and looks through her files; "I've got to get through these. It's in here Mike, the connection is in here somewhere and if I have to spend all night reading through every single one of them I will. Are you going to help me?"

He wonders if she's always been a self-destructive kind of girl. He wonders why she self-destructs. She's done it before and he knows she'll do it again, especially asn she's in a routine of staying here in the office, drinking, smoking and trying to find a connection.

"I'm taking you home," she goes to cut him off but he firmly says, "I'm not taking no for an answer."

She reluctantly agrees to be taken home, far too exhausted to argue with him. She wonders why there's a part of Mike Walker that's so concerned for her. She doesn't blame him though, she's done stupid, regrettable things in the past. It's no wonder he wants to keep her safe.

The journey home is quiet, neither Mike or Roisin make any conversation with each other. Roisin just stares out of the window watching the scenery change. As he pulls up outside her house, he turns to her.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

She nods and forces a smile, "I'll be fine." Secretly they know what it means. They both know that means she won't have an easy night tonight. She'll be awake and spend the entire night staring at the ceiling or pacing the floor.

"Goodnight Roisin."

"Goodnight Mike," she closes the door and walks up the steps to the house. As she goes inside, she turns on the light and walks into the living room. She lies down on the sofa and stares at the ceiling knowing it's going to be one of those nights, waiting for sleep to come to her.

/

_**8:30am**_.

She didn't sleep. She sat on the settee, scratching her nails across her palms still trying to make a link to the girl. Who was she? Why couldn't she remember? She rubbed her forehead and looked at the clock. It was eight thirty in the morning and Roisin realised that she hadn't slept for about forty-eight hours.

There was a knock on the front door and she frowned as she wondered who it was. She stood up and walked out of the living room and reached the front door. As she opened it, she was shocked to find Mike on the doorstep, two cups of coffee in his hands.

"I thought you could do with one of these," she frowned, "I suppose you don't remember last night?"

He invitied himself in and noticed the look of confusion on Roisin's face and decided to remind her; "Do you not remember sitting in your office, smoking and drinking a bottle of vodka that's being in your desk draw for god knows how long?"

She smiles slightly, the memories of last night slowly returning to her. She thanks him for the coffee before she takes a sip and follows him into the kitchen, "Did you sleep?"

"Not really," she answers and leans against the counter, "I've been thinking this girl, she's connected to me somehow. I've got an idea."

"Go on," he says and she bites her lower lip, "Do you remember that project that we did recently, well I say recently it was about three months ago? We went to the local comprehensive and did a talk about being a copper. There was one girl who was really eager to know, I think our victim is here."

"Roisin, are you clutching at straws?"

"No," she's a little too quick, "I'm not. I really do think she might be our victim. Please Mike, you've got to let me check it out." He nods his head. He hopes Roisin's right. He doesn't think he'll be able to do it again, taking her home and stop her self-destruction. If she is right, she might be able to get some sleep after forty-eight hours.

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**jottings** / if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review:3


	4. CHAPTER IV

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**CHAPTER FOUR**.  
_11:15am, September 10th_.

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The momemt they stepped into the office at nine-forty-five, September 9th they were greeted by the smiles of DC Sam Palmer.

"I think you might want to hear this Ma'am." Roisin made eye contact with Mike and then Sam, "What is it?"

"In the early hours of this morning, a female was reported missing from the Kingston area. Lisa and I checked it out first thing and -"

"It could be a match to our unidentified girl?"

He nodded. The girl Penelope Hicks was sixteen, olive skinned, brown hair. It was becoming a possibility that they could be the same person.

"Why the hell did it nearly take two days to report her missing?"

Lisa West cleared her throat and answered Roisin's question; "According to the mother Penelope stays with her father on a Tuesday. It was only when they realised that neither of them had her they reported her missing."

"Did she attend the local comprehensive school?"

She paced the entire room as she waited for someone to answer her question. When they had and confirmed that she had attended the local school, Roisin knew she had her. Their victim was Penelope, there was no doubt about it.

Mike knew what she was thinking, he could tell by the slight sparkle in her eyes. He knew she was onto something and he knew there was no stopping her. At times she could be like a dog with a bone.

"Nice work guys," she smiled softly, "Lisa, Sam, I want you to talk to the family, find out who her fruend's are, last time she was seen etc. Oh and let's not forget a photograph of the girl, see if it is similar to the one we own. The rest of you, I want you to look through CCTV near Penelope's house, see if there's anything unusual."

It's only as the team are moving out of the office, going to do the jobs they've been told that Mike puts his hand gently on Roisin's arm, leans in and whispers;

"I told you we would find her."

She couldn't help but find herself answering that they hadn't found her yet, they only knew who she was (and even that could be wrong!) she reminded Mike that they still only had four days left. Four days of finding her before she ended up a jigsaw puzzle around London.

/

_**4:56pm**_.

Finally after three days of hitting a brick wall and getting nowhere, they were finally getting somewhere. Penelope did attend the local school, had been part of the group who'd listened to the talk and Roisin knew she was right.

Lisa and Sam came back shortly after two in the afternoon having asked about Penelope and if her disappearance was normal. Her mother, a Ms Hicks said it was out of character, Penelope had never done anything like this before.

They discussed friends, boyfriend's, the usual questions they've got to ask when it's a missing person. It was helpful. Ms Hicks was able to tell the Detectives that her daughter had a boyfriend who was slightly older than her. She also provided a name.

"A mister Hayden Dawes, that's d-a-w-e-s."

Mike looked him up on the police database and was surprised to see he was twenty-four years old. Penelope was what, sixteen just turned? Disgusting prick!

He also had a prett impressive record dating back from when he was a fifteen year old youth. He had all sorts of previous, assault, drink driving and possession being a small number of his convictions.

"What've we got on the boyfriend?"

"A lot of previous, bit of possession, assault. He's a lot older than our Penelope though, he's twenty-four!"

"Sick bastard," Roisin muttered before she spoke again; "I think we need a word with our Mr Dawes about Penelope. Last known address?"

"His mother's."

"Aw how sweet, a mummy's boy." She said sarcastically and grabbed her coat of the back of the chair, "Who's driving, you or me?"

/

The house on the end of the quiet cul-de-sac on the outskirts of London stood very much out of place. The garden resembled something out of a gardening magazine, the grass trimmed short, the hedges neatly trimmed and the flowers were all colour co-ordinated around the garden.

Mike knocked on the door once before a plumb woman opened the door.

"Mrs Dawes?" Mrs Dawes was a short woman possibly just over five foot one and very large in weight. She wore a green knitted jumper, a red apron wrapped around her waist, both of the colours clashing slightly.

"Yes how can I help?"

"I'm DCS Michael Walker and this is DCI Roisin Connor, we'd like to speak to your son Harvey if that's possible."

Mrs Dawes didn't feel particular comfortable with the police snooping around, "He's at work at the minute."

"Where does he work?"

There was a pause on Mrs Dawes behalf, "Tesco, the one in Broadway, he's working there until six. What is this about?"

"We're making a few enquires into a missing girl called Penelope Hicks. I believe your son and Penelope have some sort of relationship."

"Had Detective," Mrs Dawes smiles and Roisin notices that Mrs Dawes probably didn't like Penelope much. Could it be jealousy because she was taking away her only child and son? "They split up a few weeks ago, Harvey said it wasn't working out."

"Did you agree with the relationship between your son and Penelope?"

"I wouldn't say I agreed with it, I support it but no, I didn't agree with it. Now is there anything else?" She smiled polietly before continuing, "I am rather busy. Hayden and I have friends coming over for dinner and I really must be getting on."

Roisin and Mike looked at each other and thanked Mrs Dawes for her time. As they left the house, closing the door behind them, Roisin knew Penelope was around here somewhere. She knew it had something to do with Harvey.

He was an older boyfriend. More pushy, more confident, more controlling. Then again Mrs Dawes could be involved trying to protect her only son and god knows what secrets that could come out of the woodwork.

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**jottings** / if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review!:)


	5. CHAPTER V

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**CHAPTER FIVE**  
_8:15am, September 11th._

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She'd spent the entire night staring at her ceiling wondering if she was really going to find Penelope in three days. Three days. That's all she had left. She felt sick inside knowing that in three days, if she failed to find her, her body would be scattered around London.

She closed her eyes and flashed back to her first meeting with Harvey Dawes,

_Harvey Dawes resembled his mother slightly in both weight and height. He was slightly taller than Mrs Dawes and of a big build. With his jet black hair and striking blue eyes, Roisin could see why someone as beautiful as Penelope Hicks would fall for him._

_"Harvey Dawes?" When they called his name and introduced themselves, they were led by Harvey into one of the back offices. Roisin noted his body language was a little jumpy but that wasn't a surprise considering he'd had a relationship with an underage girl._

_"What's this all about?" He asked, clearing his throat. Roisin glanced at Mike before she answered his question, "We're here investigating the disappearance of Penelope Hicks."_

_"Disappearance?" He frowned. As far as he was concerned there was no disappearance. Him and Penelope had gone out and she'd gone back home to her father's, "I don't understand."_

_"When was the last time you saw her?"_

_There was a pause. There were beads of sweat beginning to drip down Harvey's forehead; "It must have been Tuesday, late Tuesday afternoon. We'd met up for a coffee after she'd finished school."_

_"What time was this?"_

_"We met at half-two, Penelope left at about four fifteen in order to go home."_

_"And where was this?"_

_"Ashley's coffee shop in town. It's on the corner where Toni and Guys hair salon is." Harvey glanced between Roisin and Mike before he asked; "Is there anything else only I'm pretty busy tonight and I have a prior engagement."_

_He went to stand up before Roisin asked him another question; "One last thing Mr Dawes, what was your relationship like with Penelope Hicks?"_

_He sighed and rubbed his forehead, "I should've known this would come up. Yes Penelope and I had a relationship and yes, I am aware she was underage however, nothing happened. Our relationship ended on good terms, we're still friends. Now, is there anything else?"_

She remembered feeling different when she came out of Tesco. It was the beginning, when they mentioned Penelope's disappearance he didn't even react. Emotionally he was numb considering this was a person he'd been in a relationship with.

They checked out his alibi, the waitress at the coffee shop confirmed that they'd reached the cafe at half two and had both left again sometime after four. However it wasn't all sunshine and roses, they'd had an argument about something and things had got a little heated.

Roisin wondered what the argument was about and decided to requestion Harvey. They brought him into the station to do so gently reminding him that he could leave at any time.

According to Harvey he was unable to recall what the argument was about and claim it wasn't relevant because Penelope had gone missing afterwards.

After staring at the ceiling after what felt like an eternity, Roisin stood up and walked into the kitchen. She boiled her kettle and waited for it to finish. Today would be another day where she'd constantly sip at coffee trying to find some strength and energy.

She'd gone into work after lunch, knowing that she couldn't exactly hide at home. It wasn't work friendly especially not with her alcoholic, loud-mouthed neighbours. The team had done alright without her, they'd made some progress which by now was good, (but not entirely great)

Many of the CCTV camera in and around the area showed Penelope, enabling them to create a timeline of her disappearance. One capture was taken at four, forty-five on the corner of St Albert Street by the passage that joined onto Bexhill Avenue. She was lost on camera as she went down the passage as there were no cameras on Bexhill Avenue.

Roisin concluded, as did Mike that Penelope had to be in a five mile radius. The reason was because it wasn't a planned attack, it was disorganised and simply by choice. The next question from Roisin's lip were if there was any lock ups near or around Bexhill Avenue.

And the answer was simple, there was.

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**jottings** / if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review:3


	6. CHAPTER VI

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**CHAPTER SIX**.  
_September 12th, 2:13pm_.

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There were a lot of garages at the back of Bexhill Avenue backing onto Sundale Drive. Although they were meant for the residents of the two streets, it seemed anyone could get a tenancy. As they searched through the list of owners, they were surprised to see Harvey Dawes' name crop up.

They brought him in, under caution to interview. They were getting closer to the truth and yet at the same time they were so far away.

"Do you own a car Mr Dawes?"

"No."

"Have you ever owned a car?"

"No."

Roisin looked at Harvey Dawes. She knew from the minute she met him there was something about him. Something that made her feel like he was the one. He had Penelope and god help her, she'd get to the truth even if it meant hitting the bastard several times!

She pushed a piece of paper towards him, "For the tape I'm showing the suspect evidence number 21, can you read the top line out for me."

"Harvey Alexander Dawes."

"Can you confirm that is you?"

"Yes."

There was a pause. She glanced at him, wondering if she was going to break him. She didn't see any tell-tale signs that she usually saw with suspects from the fidgeting to the nervousness. Nope, he was as cool as a cucumber. She wondered if he'd done it before, taken a girl and killed.

(Once there was a taste for blood, there was no stopping them.)

"Now I will ask you again, do you or have you ever owned a car?"

"Yes," he answered and Roisin sighed deeply as she thought 'finally, we're finally making progress.'

"Have you ever used a garage on Bexhill Avenue?"

He shuffled in his seat and glanced at his solicitor for a moment. Then he looked back at Roisin and shrugged his shoulders; "Could've done, a couple of times."

"Do you still have the keys to the garage?"

"No."

Roisin paused for a second before she opened her file and replaced evidence number twenty-one. She took out another piece of paper and pushed it towards Harvey before speaking again; "I am showing the suspect, evidence number sixty-three, these are your bank statements correct?"

"Yes, so?"

"Well," she cleared her throat, "on the eighteenth of August of this year, twenty-four pounds and ninety-nine pence was taken as a direct debit from your account to the local council. Now Mr Dawes what I don't understand is, why would you continue to pay for something you no longer use?"

"Oh I remember," he glanced at his solicitor again, "I sold my car at the beginning of August but didn't inform the council until the end of the month."

"Mr Dawes," she paused again collecting her thoughts, "This month just gone the same payment of twenty-four pounds and ninety-nine pence was taken out of your account. This is according to after you cancelled your direct debit?"

"No comment," Roisin looked at Harvey then his solicitor and was about to ask another question when the solicitor asked to speak to his client alone. Roisin glanced at the clock, "Interview suspended at two thirty-three pm."

As they both got up and stood outside the room, both of them wondered if this was it. Did they have Harvey Dawes well and truely by the balls?

/

_**6:50pm.**_

The sound of smashed glass caused everyone from the room to glance in the direction of Roisin's office.

"Are you fucking kidding?" She slammed her hand down on the table, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"It's not my choice, I don't want to release him anymore than you do."

"Bullshit! You think I'm wrong don't you?" Mike didn't answer, he knew better than to argue with Roisin when she was in this kind of mood. Their eyes met for a second, a second too long before Roisin broke the contact, "You think I'm wrong."

"Roisin," he sighed, "I think you're right but we've got no evidence to hold him."

"No evidence! We've got the fact the bastard lied to us and he has a garage that's less than two fucking feet from where she went missing."

"At the minute it's substantial, it would never hold up in court.

"Well that's just fucking stupid," she muttered under her breath as she threw a pen across the room, "This place is run by a bunch of tossers!"

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**jottings** / if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review. :D


	7. CHAPTER VII

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**CHAPTER SEVEN**  
_September 13th, 01:15am_.

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She's drunk — again. She can't help it, she's just got a relationship with alcohol that makes everything okay when she's feeling like shit.

She swallows as she glances at the empty bottle of wine. She knows tonight's going to be one of those nights, you know the ones where you don't sleep. You spend the entire night wrapped up in your duvet, tossing and turning, your mind being unable to shut off.

Her mind screaming she's got less than twenty-four hours to find Penelope Hicks, otherwise she's going to receive her finger in the post.

Roisin stands up, stumbles into the kitchen and opens the fridge for the second bottle of red wine. As she takes it out, she's startled by a knock on the door and the wine bottle slips from her grasp and hits the floor. The bottle shatters and red liquid begins to circle the white tiles.

"Fuck," she mutters before she looks to the door again. She wonders who it is especially at this late hour.

She leaves the glass, stepping over it and stumbles towards the door. As she unlocks it, her eyes fall upon Mike. She stumbles slightly and Mike notices her eyes are glassed over and she's drunk _again._

"What do you want?" She doesn't wait for an answer, she just leaves the door open as she walks back into the kitchen. She begins to clean up the glass, her heart sinking slightly knowing that she's got no more alcohol.

The door closes behind her and he follows her into the kitchen, "I wanted to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine," he raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything. He knows she isn't, hell she's doing what she does best and is being destructive. He bends down next to her and helps her to pick up the shards of broken glass.

"Why don't you just fuck off?"

He leaves the question to linger. He doesn't know how to answer, "If that's how you feel I will." He drops the shards of glass in the bin and goes to walk away. He stops in his tracks when she whispers that she doesn't want him to leave, not really.

"What?"

"You heard," she answered. She doesn't want to come across as weak willed but she is. At this moment in time she's vulnerable and she knows it. She doesn't want to be alone because it's going to be a long night with her own thoughts. She'd rather have company, even if it's him. The person she hates to admit she loves.

"Why do you care so much?" She asks and yet already knows the answer. She just wants to hear the words come from his mouth, make sure it's not all in her head. She stands up and stares at him for a second, "Why do you care about me so much?"

"You know why Roisin," She pushes him into the wall and kisses him hard before whispering, "Fuck me."

"Roisin," he begins but she cuts him off, "Fuck me." He slams her into the wall and kisses her hard. If that's what she wants, he'll give it to her.

/

_**07:19am.**_

Rough, drunken sex helps her sleep. It takes her mind of everything from Penelope Hicks to Harvey Dawes. She likes having the company although she won't admit she needs him because she's a woman and she's independent and she's strong.

She wakes first thing, the sun creeping through the crack in the curtain. She notices the side of the bed is empty and she doesn't really mind. It was after all just drunken, rough sex. She sits up, wrapping the duvet around her and traces her fingers along the bruises that've appeared at the top of her arms.

She hears footsteps coming up the stairs and smiles when she realises he hadn't left. He comes into the bedroom with a cup of coffee and he hands it to her before he sits down on the edge of the bed,

"Roisin," he begins but Roisin cuts him off; "Last night shouldn't have happened, it was a mistake?"

He nods. He shouldn't have taken advantage of her when she was drunk and vulnerable even if she did say she wanted it. She takes a sip of her coffee and places it on the bedside table and grabs his hand,

"Is it because I was drunk?"

"Yes."

"I don't regret it," she looks away before she makes eye contact with him again, "I don't regret last night, not matter how drunk I was."

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**jottings** / if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review:3


	8. CHAPTER VIII

ϟ

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**CHAPTER EIGHT**.  
_September 14th, 9am._

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Her mind was still taunting her, telling her (reminding her) today was the last day to find Penelope in one piece.

She's spent most of the morning in the toilets, hugging her knees and crying as well as being sick because she knows she's failed her. Penelope Hicks is just another victim, another statistic because of her. There's no way they'll find her now.

She sits in her office with the blinds drawn, going over every little detail in her mind. It's no good, it's not helping, it's just torturing Roisin's already fragile state of mind even more. She knows there's got to be something they've overlooked, _something, anything._

/

_**12:56pm.**_

Harvey looked at Penelope and noticed the fear in her eyes. It turned him on, the fear in her eyes. She was scared and that excited him. She knew, she knew today was the day that she died. He smiled and licked his lips.

He edged towards her and asked gently, "If I untie you, do you promise to be good?"

She nods. She promises to be a good girl and do whatever he asks. She knows she's only got twelve hours left on this earth so she may as well do as he asks. Nobody's coming for her. Her parents are going to be lost without her as are her siblings.

He gently unties her wrists from behind her back, the bruises the rope's left on her wrists makes him smile. He gently runs his fingers along the rim and looks Penelope deep in the eye, "Give me a lapdance babe."

She nods her head, swallows hard and performs a lap dance for him. It's only then, without him noticing, she grabs the rope and tightens it around his throat. He grabs hold of her hips, his nails digging into her as she strangles him.

It isn't easy. She's weak because she's lost her strength but her survivial instinct kicks in. She tightens it until Harvey goes blue and stops breathing. When his head rolls to the side she knows he's dead and now she must find a way out of here.

/

**_3:18pm._**

There's a knock on the door and Roisin looks up from the file she's reading. The door opens a fraction and DC Sam Palmer steps into the office, "Ma'am?"

"Yes," she feels her heart beginning to race and her stomach tighten. Is this the news she's been waiting for? That Penelope Hick's was dead. He knows the news Roisin's waiting for, the whole team had been waiting for that news but this, this was better.

"Kingston General called," he pauses as he makes eye contact with her, "Penelope Hicks is there."

"What?" The words roam around her mind, Penelope Hicks was in hospital but how? "This isn't some kind of sick joke?"

"No, a Penelope Hicks admitted herself to hospital this afternoon at 2:30pm." A small smile appeared on Roisin's face and she nodded. She felt better already, her heart no longer raced and her stomach wasn't tight either. Penelope Hicks was safe, the nightmare was over.

"Thanks Sam," she said as he left the office, closing the door behind him.

/

_**5:55pm.**_

Roisin had gone to the hospital alone, she needed to to know it was real. Penelope Hicks was really alive and the nightmare was over. She was found. She was safe. She'd asked the receptionist on the first floor where Penelope Hicks was and after some directions, and asking a Nurse a couple of times, she found herself outside Penelope's room.

"Penelope?"

The girl was definitely Penelope Hicks just slightly more pale and her hair not as shiny as in the photograph, "Are you the police?"

"DCI Roisin Connor," she edged towards the bed and Penelope sat up, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them slightly. Roisin noticed the bruises and the marks on her skin where she'd been held captive by Harvey Dawes.

"How are you?" She asks and curses herself when she realises it's a stupid question. How did she think Penelope felt? Relieved to be alive, scared, broken, shattered? Penelope made eye contact with her for a second and shrugged her shoulders;

"I've been better I guess," the nurse came in the room to check Penelope over and warned Roisin not to spend too long questioning her as she needed to rest. She understood that but at the same time she knew Penelope wouldn't be able to rest for long.

"How did you escape?"

She rocked backwards and forwards, "The sleezy bastard made me perform a lap dance. I did because I figured I'd be dead soon so I may as well be a good girl. I took the rope that he'd taken off my wrists and strangled him."

"Is he dead?"

"Yes but you've got to understand Detective, if I didn't kill him he'd have killed me."

Roisin touched her arm gently but Penelope flinched. She still wasn't used to that contact from people meaning they cared and they weren't going to hurt her; "Relax, you're not in trouble. We know what Harvey Dawes is like okay?"

Penelope nodded and Roisin decided that she'd leave her to get some rest. As she left the room, she leant against the wall and closed her eyes. She was relieved her own nightmare was over and tonight, for the first time in a week, she'd be able to rest knowing she did everything she could for Penelope Hicks.

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**jottings** / so, there we go the end. it's crappy i know but the nightmares over for them both. please if you like it enough to favourite, don't forget to leave a review. again, i apologise if the whole thing is out of character, i haven't watched trial and retribution in forever.


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